I went through and actually cleaned my craft room today and discovered a bag of fabric my mother had dropped off years ago. In it was a couple fabrics Ive already used but Im still left with three fabrics I have no clue what to do with.Bag (still) Contains:3 1/2 YD. of solid black suiting cotton type2 1/3 YD. of blue striped plaid (pictured)approx 1 YD of solid medium colored purple cotton

So after trying to restitch it by hand and then trying interfacing when that didnt work my old friend, Trina the seam ripper, went to work on removing the band. I replaced the pleated band with a flat one. I finally understood it was a combination of the weight of the dress and my abnormally sized chesticles.

I am making a spring dress that has a waistband that is pleated. At first, I did think it was pintucks but the pattern told me to remove the basting stiches which held the pleats in place. Once I did the folds all came undone with the weight of the skirt. I first attempted iron and that failed so I then attempted to hand stitch the pleats in place but you could see the stitching somehow so I took that out. I do not know if I was stitching in the wrong place and thats what caused it but I was just looking for ideas on how to make it stay or further stitching instructions. Ive included further pictures below of the area and of the total dress.

I have tried everything to make these pleats stay in place, its in the waistband of a dress, I tried hand basting and machine basting but you can see the stitching which is something I really detest. I starched it in place and it did not do a darn thing. I am just getting so frustrated with it. Any ideas on how to fix it?